Start your career in
Songwriting

If you are a songwriter, producer or composer looking to gain the skills to write and release accomplished tracks, then this is the course for you.

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you will...

MUSICIANSHIP

You will delve into the building blocks of music from rhythms and melodies to chords, scales and harmony.

WRITE & ARRANGE SONGS

Develop your songwriting and composing skills while also arranging the works of other artists.

REPERTOIRE DEVELOPMENT

Create a portfolio of songs and compositions and get these recorded using producers and musicians.

DEVELOP BUSINESS SKILLS

Get the skills to promote yourself and your skills within the industry.

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Start your creative career

Get industry experience

Get a qualification

Duration & Fees

Entry Requirements & Signing up

Start your creative career

Choosing this Songwriting Level 3 course is the beginning of your journey into the creative industries.

The creative sector is one of the fastest growing areas of the UK economy and a great and exciting place in which to work.

This Songwriting course can lead onto:

A creative degree at university where you can gain further skills in preparation for work. This may be a music degree or another subject which takes your fancy. You will need to complete both years of the Songwriting course in order to generate the UCAS points for university entry.

Our one-year Artist Development course where you can take your music to the next level in preparation for professional work.

Employment, or self-employment, in the creative industries. This may be as a music artist or songwriter, or it may be into another area of the music or creative industries.

A creative apprenticeship as a stepping stone to work.

Get industry experience

Being at Access is so much more than just doing a course. You will have the chance to get first-hand experience of the music and creative industries.

Here are some of the opportunities you can take advantage of:

EVENTS: You’ll have unique opportunities to showcase your work. These range from a local gig to the chance to have your music performed on a festival stage at events such as Latitude organised by partner, Festival Republic.

MUSIC GLUE: Music Glue is a global direct-to-fan platform used by 26,000 artists worldwide to sell tickets, merchandise, music and more direct to their audience from one customisable website.

DISTRIBEAT: A partnership with worldwide distribution company,which allows you to market your music through all major online stores including iTunes.

TWINE: All our students get free membership, which is an online platform allowing creative people to collaborate on projects and earn money!

FOCUSRITE: Access is proud of its partnership with Focusrite. You will have the chance to get your hands on over £500 of FREE Focusrite audio plug-ins, supported by special Focusrite workshops.

Get a qualification

On successful completion you will get a recognised qualification which you can add to your creative CV:

Two year RSL Level 3 Extended Diploma for Music Practitioners. This can generate up to 168 UCAS points on the 2017 tariff.

Please note these UCAS points are for a Distinction* and lower grades generate considerably fewer points.

The Extended Diploma is equivalent to three A Levels or a BTEC Level 3 Diploma.

Duration & Fees

The Songwriting course lasts for two years.

It is usually delivered over three to four days per week from September to June (daytime). How long you are in college will depend on what additional English and Maths sessions you need to attend.

If you aged 16-18 on 31st August 2018, and/or at the start of your Songwriting course then the course if FREE

If you aged 19+ on 31st August 2018, and/or at the start of your Songwriting course then you will have to pay £4425 for each year. However, you can apply for an Advanced Learner Loan to cover the cost of this course. You will only have to repay the loan when you start to earn over £21,000 per year.

Entry Requirements & Signing up

Applying for this Songwriting course is easy. All you need to do is fill in our online application form and we will get back in touch with some suggested dates of when we can meet up to discuss it further.

SKILLS SET: We value your creative passion and skills above all else. However, you will also need to demonstrate that you are able to work at Level 3 (A Level standard). For school leavers we will require evidence of your predicted and actual grades, backed up by a school reference. As a guide, this course is for songwriters/ composers with some experience of writing and realising music. Knowledge of music theory and notation is an advantage, but is not essential, as is knowledge of music production software. Lyric writing is an important component of the course, so you will need to feel comfortable about writing lyrics and your use of English. If you have done Rockschool instrument grades then you may have achieved a standard between Grade 5 and Grade 8. Please note you will not be able to enrol if you will be under the age of 16 on 31st August. Applications from people under this age are still welcome, but will be deferred to the following year.

INTERVIEW: You will be invited to an demonstration/interview. Please prepare a short demonstration of two contrasting pieces of music which you have written. These can be in a physical format, an online link, or on a USB stick. You may also wish to bring other portfolio work to support your application (e.g. further tracks, lyrics, web pages, promotional materials etc.). You can view/download a detailed Interview Guide from the link below.